granny

24// night

"here's your room, jisung," jungwoo said, opening a door next to the one of the kitchen.

"oh, um, we can share one room, it's okay," minho spoke up with a smile. it was maybe weird to suggest that but jisung would probably feel safer if they were together.

"alright, i thought you might say that," the host grinned and turned on the lamp, "there's extra blankets in the wardrobe."

"thanks, goodnight," the youngest nodded.

"night," minho and jungwoo said at the same time and smiled. then the guests entered the room and closed the door.

"are you alright?"

"we almost died two streets away from here," jisung whispered and took off his shirt to get into his sleep attire, "but other than that i'm well. they don't make me feel threatened."

"me neither," minho also undressed, starting from his pants, "do you think granny told grandpa to burn the house?"

"why do you say that?," the shorter narrowed his eyes pensively.

"because you said she set him on fire. maybe it was her plan to blame him for everything after all.."

"oh," jisung exclaimed and sat down on the bed in his sleep tshirt, "that makes sense actually. i was thinking that maybe she just didn't think she could trust him with not spilling the plan to the police in case something happens but.. you might be right."

"maybe we're overthinking this," minho bit his lip as he took off his shirt.

"uh-huh. we definitely are," jisung mumbled with a small smile and stood up to walk to the other.

"i was thinking about my injury.. why didn't they just.. smack your head too and bury us in the yard? no one would've known..," the older reflected aloud as a pair of hands wrapped around his body and he shot a curious glance at the small face on his shoulder.

jisung's eyes were down and he had an unreadable expression and his nose was rubbing against minho's neck gently.

"i mean, sorry, not that they should've done that or anything..," the taller corrected and got a kiss on his shoulder.

"i guess she couldn't have done that when i called her over because she didn't know what had happened," jisung quietly stated, "she could've obviously just pretended and fooled me but there was no reason not to use the opportunity to kill us both unless she really wasn't warned beforehand.."

"so you're saying that he decided to hit me on his own?," minho continued and lifted his shoulders a little unconsciously.

"i think so," the shorter hummed, "but why are you so tense? it's over now," he murmured and squeezed the shoulders into his hands, kissing the side of his neck softly.

"sorry, i guess i was kind of overwhelmed by coming here.."

"i shouldn't have insisted," jisung whispered in an almost whine-like tone, "you should've told me you don't want to.."

"no, shh," minho turned around and took jisung's cheek in his hand, "it's okay. i'm fine. just got awkward with the talk of granny.. i really want to know what happened."

jisung pursed his lips and that was a signal for the older to lean in and give him a kiss. he tasted like something fruity, probably toothpaste, but jisung still licked his lips after it was over.

"will you be okay if we never find out the whole truth?," he asked, afraid of the answer. he didn't want minho to keep digging into the past.

"yes. i think so," the older nodded, "i just want to know.. to.. make sense of everything. this is our history."

jisung bit his lip and put his hands on minho's temples, "we don't need that," he muttered and his shining eyes were searching for the other's comprehension, "it may be our history but our story is whatever we make of it. right? we don't need granny to be a part of it.. right?"

minho nodded mechanically. was this what mrs kim meant when she said that jisung could always persuade him into anything? the thought of that slipped into his mind but the importance of what jisung said was greater and the meaning of it stuck with minho. he was right.

"you're right. what she wanted or didn't want isn't what we need to be concerned about.."

jisung nodded and smiled, then planted a soft kiss on his forehead, "i know this is something we probably won't ever be completely free of but.. let's not make it central in our life, okay?"

"yes," minho nodded and closed his eyes. two thumbs were rubbing his eyebrows and stroking them gently and it was so relaxing.

"lie down, bunny, and let's go to bed," jisung instructed with a soothing voice and the older obeyed and snuggled under the covers.

the shorter lied down too, and he took his time to cuddle him and kiss his cheeks, neck and collarbones, hoping that he would fall asleep soundly, without thinking about the granny stuff and the alarming stories that they heard.

"why didn't they kill us before they set the house on fire. at least me, i was literally in the room she went to to get the gasoline..," minho deadpanned after a while of silence, like a persistent child, trying to find an explanation to even the most abstract parts of the fairy tale.

jisung sighed. he knew that the older was sometimes stubborn like a cattle and he could pick on things for days at a time.

"maybe they knew that the police can tell whether someone died in a fire or was dead before that.. or they just weren't sure they could win in a struggle against you," he explained in a flat voice, like an adult that's heard the question 'why' too many times already.

"but-"

"minho, i want to sleep," jisung snapped quietly. he wasn't particularly feisty in an argument and the older knew he would probably just end up crying if he had to have a full-on confrontation.

"oh. right, sorry," the taller whispered back, "i'm annoying you, right?," jisung didn't reply. minho smiled to himself and leaned in to kiss his cheek, "sorry. i'll stop. goodnight, baby."

"night," jisung tried to reply flatly but he couldn't help but smile.